The present invention relates to lamp socket terminals, and in particular to terminals for lamps having exterior electrical lead wires.
Lamps having exterior electrical lead wires are well known in the art. In particular, wedge base lamps comprise a bulb having one or more filaments, a base, and a plurality of exterior electrical leads. The electrical leads conventionally extend out of the lamp from the bottom edge of the lamp base and wrap upwardly along the side of the base, at least one lead on each side of the base. Lamps with a single filament typically have two leads; lamps with more than one filament will have additional leads.
In many conventional lamps, including glass base lamps, the leads are secured to the lamp only at the bottom of the lamp base. As a result, the upper portion of electrical leads often become bent to either the left or right. Bent leads can lead to poor, intermittent or failed contact with the corresponding terminal into which the bulb is inserted.